


Sing You Home

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-07
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-10-06 08:23:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17341928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: After returning home to Jorvik, Lisa struggles to find her muse. Daine belongs to HellishSam.





	Sing You Home

Lisa hadn't picked up her guitar since she'd arrived back on Jorvik. And not just from Pandoria: since she'd stepped off that plane and into the cool interior of the airport, then out to her father's car, her guitar case in hand, Lisa hadn't done more than stow her guitar away wherever she was staying and forget it existed.

Most rockstars returned home to paparazzi, looking like rockstars, greeting the cheering crowd with big smiles and waving hands and peace signs. Lisa had snuck in, the hood of a simple dark blue jacket pulled up over her head. Her hair hadn't been brushed in days, her eyes had had so many bags under them that they'd almost needed their own baggage claim, her face had been clear of makeup, and her nails bitten down to the quick. She'd sobbed in her father's arms, shaking, murmuring "I can't believe she's gone" over and over. As if Anne were dead, even though every part of her had rebelled at the idea, crying out at the unfairness of it, declaring that Anne couldn't be dead, she couldn't, that it was all lies and Anne had been kidnapped by someone and they'd find her, they'd find her, they'd find her.

She'd been seventeen, then, barely able to deal with this, barely able to deal with everything. And then, not one moment after arriving back home on Jorvik and reuniting with her beloved Starshine, Lisa had been captured and thrust into the searing bright pink eternity of Pandoria. She'd celebrated her birthday there, floating trapped in a crystalline prison, able to communicate only with the roots wrapping around her prison like vines. She'd floated, her hand pressed to the pink crystal, hair floating about her face as though she were underwater. And the whole time, she'd felt Pandoria poisoning her, felt it leeching away life and happiness and everything good. The only bright spark had been the moment when her wandering eyes had found Anne, trapped similarly. Anne had opened her blue eyes as Lisa had cried out, reaching for her hopelessly, hand colliding with the side of her crystal prison with a smack that she'd felt deep in her bones.

Lisa had been eighteen when she'd finally seen the night sky of Jorvik again, the stars like diamonds nestled in a velvety dark blue. A welcome relief from the eerie piercing stars in Pandoria's eternal twilight. And when she'd seen the girl who she'd come to love, cringing and terrified and crying over the sight of the Dark Riders who were closing in on her and her injured horse. At the sight of it, at the enemy encroaching on her saviour, a fire had sparked in Lisa's heart, consuming her until it had burned at her fingertips. It had been all too easy to hurl the pink flame at the Dark Riders, causing them to scatter. But her hand, when it had touched the cheek of her saviour, had been cool again, the flame long-since vanished.

That flame had reignited again as she'd gotten to know her saviour over the next few weeks and months. And, though it was just as fierce, it no longer burned with the same anger. The first salty kiss, on the shore of the beach across from the Forgotten Fields, had sparked that flame into a roaring inferno. An inferno that still resided in Lisa's heart, even now.

And yet still, despite the flame raging in her chest, Lisa couldn't bring herself to touch her guitar. She'd opened the case, though, decorated with stickers from her travels, unicorn stickers, a sticker bearing her original home state of Texas, even a rainbow flag sticker that her girlfriend had gasped and amazed over.

Sitting on the bed, staring at the guitar yet unable to bring herself to touch it, to play it, Lisa squeezed her eyes shut, biting her lip against tears. What was wrong with her? Didn't she love her girlfriend enough to do this for her? It had been two years, she should be over it by now. But maybe Anne's absence had smothered the flame of creativity.

At last, Lisa closed the lid of her guitar case, clicking it closed, and stashed it back beside the wardrobe in her room at the manor. She couldn't do this. Why couldn't she do this? Maybe she needed to go home, with her dad, not here at the manor where every little display of luxury reminded her of the friend that she’d lost.

But even at home, on what would have been her girlfriend’s (was she still her girlfriend? Lisa didn’t know, not that she’d blame Louisa for moving on in her absence, she had left suddenly after all and and and) twenty-third birthday, Lisa couldn’t. She looked at her guitar, even picked it up, holding it in her hands. Words tried to swim into her mind, words of love and devotion and apology.

But just the mere thought of seeing her girlfriend again filled Lisa with so much anxiety that her hands couldn’t stop shaking. She couldn’t carry a tune like this. Louisa probably hated her, probably wanted nothing to do with her, probably thought that Lisa had just abandoned her because she had, hadn’t she? And even if she did go back, should she really be with Louisa? After all, Lisa had already been thrown in Pandoria once, her enemies were dangerous, they’d almost hurt Louisa once. Maybe it was better if Lisa just didn’t grow attached to anyone. Not that she could tell her heart that.

She loved Louisa, more than anything. And that weakness, that inability to be with the woman she loved, the inability to overcome that fear, hurt worse than it should have. She could be with Louisa if she was brave enough, yes, but Lisa wasn’t brave, wasn’t anything. She was nothing, and Louisa was everything, and Louisa deserved so much better than her.

She put the guitar away before her tears could ruin the finish on the wood. Not that it mattered.

Lisa tried again when she was twenty and her girlfriend was celebrating her twenty-fourth birthday. She wanted to play for her, wanted to surprise her with something special. She couldn't. Her eyes stung with tears as she almost kicked the guitar back into the corner, beside Herman's wardrobe now that they were house-sitting for him. She needed to see what horses were on Louisa's wishlist.

Not long after that, Lisa wished, more than anything, that she could play her guitar again. But her eyes misted with tears as she held the guitar in her hands, smoothing her hands over the polished wood. It always worked in the movies- the musically-inclined love interest would strum a song for their significant other, who would then fall into their arms weeping and promising to never leave them again. But Louisa had just looked so hurt, and maybe Lisa deserved it, maybe Lisa had been away for too long and Louisa had grown closer to her friends, maybe Louisa wasn't even interested anymore. It had been hard, after all, these past few months that Lisa had been back. She'd explained things, sure, but...

Maybe she'd lost her muse. Maybe she'd left her standing there in the misty Guardians Dale. Maybe she deserved to lose her muse, after that.

Things got better, though. Though, Lisa was surprised to find the man who'd punched her extending the olive branch.

"Listen," said Daine, standing in their front yard. "I don't like you and you don't like me, but can we just... agree to get along for this camping trip?"

"As long as you agree not to punch me in the face again," said Lisa, shifting her weight to her other foot. "That hurt, Daine."

"So did your words," said Daine, and when he got angry like this, Lisa could see the animal that he'd apparently become while in Pandoria. But she didn't flinch away, she only frowned at him. "You insensitive bitch."

"So much for getting along," said Lisa, shrugging. "You've blown it now, Daine. I don't want to go on this camping trip with you, anyway."

"Not even for your fiancee's sake?" Daine asked. He sighed. "We won't even see much of each other, I just want us all to have a nice time on this camping trip."

"And I s'pose you'll be bringing your fiance too," said Lisa, raising an eyebrow. Daine rolled his eyes.

"Duh," said Daine. "He lives with me now, it's kind of expected that I'd take him with me."

"Well, you keep to your tent and I'll keep to mine," said Lisa. "Capisce?"

"What are you implying?" Daine asked, his voice cold. Lisa only shrugged and walked back inside, closing the door in his face. Though, she did call over her shoulder to him.

"I'll be there," said Lisa. "For her." Because the glittering engagement ring, radiant with rainbow colours, was still fresh on her hand, and she very much wanted to spend every second with her new fiancee. Especially after everything that had happened in the past few years.

When Lisa packed her things for the trip, along with her pyjamas and more outdoorsy clothes (and swimwear, because they'd probably end up swimming in the lake), she packed her guitar as well. Even though it seemed heavy in her hands, even though she wasn't sure if she'd even be able to pluck up the courage, she still took it with her. Just in case. And besides, there was bound to be a campfire, some singing and guitar-playing was to be expected.

Louisa didn't say anything when she saw the guitar case tied to Starshine with the rest of Lisa's luggage (there wasn't much because Lisa knew how to camp, coming from Texas). Lisa was grateful for that, she didn't want to get her fiancee's hopes up for nothing. But she did definitely notice Louisa riding beside her as they trailed to Mistfall, keeping behind the other Keepers of the Light and the one non-Keeper partner.

"I hope things won't be awkward," Louisa muttered, casting her eyes downward. "With you and Daine there, I mean."

"We'll behave for your sake," said Lisa. "I promise."

"I hope so," said Louisa, smiling at her. "I need to ask Ydris to soundproof the tents, anyway." Lisa laughed loudly. Willow and Jay, riding up the front, turned to regard them with strange looks.

"Sorry," said Lisa, giggling. "Bad joke."

"Keep it in your pants, guys, please," said Willow. Lisa grinned, about to make some witty remark, but Louisa gave her a look that dared her to try it. So Lisa swallowed the dirty joke that she'd been about to say and instead enjoyed the late summer sunshine on their backs. Bidding farewell to summer with a camping trip was a lovely idea, she was glad that Jay had suggested it. She was curious about that boy, but he usually kept to himself.

The group found a nice place to set up camp up on Berry Hill, amidst the cloudberries and blueberries. Lisa nibbled on handfuls of the delicious berries while her fiancee started to set the things on the ground to set up the tent that they'd be sleeping in. Ydris erected his using magic, of course, to which his fiance angrily demanded he tear it down and let him set it up properly. Setting up a tent with her fiancee was very nice, though, Lisa decided. Worth a few smacks in the knees and face from tent poles that didn't quite go down properly. It was all worth it when Louisa crawled inside the tent, declaring that she was stuffed, and Lisa crawled in after her and gave her a gentle kiss. Ariana and Via insinuated that they were doing bad things, but Lisa only flipped them off before she crawled back out of the tent with her fiancee following her. After a few more kisses, of course, but it was too hot to do any of the things that Ariana and Via had 'suggested'.

The night was cool, though, as the small group of friends gathered around a campfire (lit by Daine and approved by Alonso before he returned to the ranger station) on logs that had been found by Daine and Ariana and shaped into seats by a combination of Ydris and Jay. Via handed around marshmallows to make smores (it was a requirement now, especially after Louisa had admitted that she'd never had smores before), which they toasted over the campfire. Daine cheated though, of course, blowing on his marshmallow on the end of his stick before smooshing it between the chocolate and graham crackers.

"Cheater," Ariana accused, sitting next to Rania, who'd shown up and was currently toasting her marshmallow with the ease of years of practice. She could literally do it blind.

After the delicious treats had been eaten, though, and the group had settled into the stuffed comfort of sugar comas, Daine walked over to the tent that he shared with Ydris and returned clutching his guitar. He sat down again, resting the guitar on his knees as his fingers found the strings. No pick this time, he was having fun. He grinned as he strummed.

"Let's gather round the campfire and sing our campfire song," Daine sang, his voice making the song sound ten times better. Lisa grinned, rising from her seat beside Louisa as a surge of inspiration struck her. She dashed over to the tent, dove inside, and emerged clutching her guitar. Then, she took her seat beside Louisa again, sitting on the other side of the fire from Daine. His golden eyes seemed to glow through the flames as he grinned at her. Lisa knew this one, so she sang the next verse.

"Our c-a-m-p-f-i-r-e s-o-n-g song," she sang, her voice melding perfectly with the crackling of the flames.

"And if you don't think that we can sing it faster then you're wrong," Daine continued.

"But it'll help if you just sing along," Lisa added. They grinned at each other through the flames one more time before their fingers found the strings and began strumming rapidly. The entire group caught on quickly, singing loudly and as quickly as possible. They tripped over their words, gasped in laughter, and eventually, by the end, Daine had to finish with one more refrain of the chorus. Only, without the guitar smashing from the cartoon.

By this point, every member of the group was in stitches, most of them on their backs and clutching their sides as tears of laughter rolled down their cheeks.

Lisa wheezed as she lay back beside her fiancee, her guitar on the ground beside them. Louisa giggled, her shoulders shaking with mirth as tears of not only laughter shone in her eyes.

"What?" Lisa asked, seeing the smile that seemed unable to leave Louisa's face.

"You played," said Louisa, her face glowing with happiness. Lisa blinked, then her grin faded somewhat when she realised.

"I did, didn't I?" said Lisa.

"Yeah," said Louisa. "Probably not the big song you were expecting to play when you came back to music but, you know." The smile never left her lips. And maybe that had been the issue all along, maybe she'd just been trying too hard when really, she should have been starting smaller. Maybe she should have started with Wonderwall, a thought that almost had her giggling again.

"It's thanks to your friend, really," said Lisa, gazing at her fiancee under the flickering glow of the fire and the stars shining overhead. "The one who punched me."

"Daine? How?" Louisa asked. "I thought you'd be enemies forever after that."

"Well, you brought me back with memes once before," said Lisa, smiling fondly at the memory of sitting in an empty horse stall and giggling at stupid videos while tears had streamed down her face. "Seems fitting that memes would bring me back again."

"Remind me to thank him," said Louisa, leaning across and kissing Lisa's cheek. "I'll have him to thank for any future romantic ballads." Lisa laughed, her heart feeling lighter than ever in that moment.

"My love, there will be plentiful romantic ballads in your future, believe you me," said Lisa. And maybe a song for Daine, too. Just to thank him for bringing her muse back to her.


End file.
